A quotation from Han Feizi
Quotation
When the wise ruler governs his people, he relies not on their doing him good, but on making it impossible for them to do wrong.
Han Feizi
Forget virtue. People follow incentives. A state runs on law, methods, and power, not the goodness of its ruler.
Han Feizi was a prince of the small state of Han and a student of Xunzi. He stuttered and could not speak persuasively, so he wrote instead, producing the clearest and most ruthless political philosophy in Chinese history. He argued that rulers should rely not on the virtue of their ministers but on a system of rewards and punishments so precise that personal goodness becomes irrelevant. The King of Qin read his work and conquered China using his ideas. Han Feizi himself was imprisoned and forced to take poison by his former classmate Li Si.
Understanding This Quotation
What does Han Feizi mean by this quotation?
Forget virtue. People follow incentives. A state runs on law, methods, and power, not the goodness of its ruler. Han Feizi was a prince of the small state of Han and a student of Xunzi. He stuttered and could not speak persuasively, so he wrote instead, producing the clearest and most ruthless political philosophy in Chinese histor…